


I Can Promise You a Happy Ending

by BlackEyedGirl



Category: Captain America, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-21
Updated: 2011-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-23 22:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackEyedGirl/pseuds/BlackEyedGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A movie marathon had seemed like a harmless idea at the time. For a capkink prompt of the Avengers watching Star Wars, and Steve having problems with the end of The Empire Strikes Back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Promise You a Happy Ending

**Author's Note:**

> **Content note** (possibly) for a PTSD-esque reminder of trauma, though there's nothing graphic.  
>  Spoilers for the original Star Wars trilogy.  
> And title from Mack and Mabel, though used in a slightly cheerier context.
> 
> The actual prompt: _The Avengers are watching the Star Wars trilogy (the original one, and you KNOW Tony has some amazing non-released but fully-restored version of the old theatrical cut), and Steve is loving it. Until they get up to Empire Strikes Back, with the carbonite-freezing of Han Solo. Steve does not like that._

“How the holy hell did you get this?”

Tony smirks. “I know people.”

“Do you know George Lucas?” Clint asks. “Because if not, I don’t see how you got hold of it.”

“Please, like Lucas would knowingly let a non-remastered-til-the-joy’s-drained-out version of his baby back into the world. I know higher powers than him.”

“Spielberg?” Clint checks.

“I do know Spielberg, but that’s not relevant here. Now shut up, I’m watching Steve.”

As lockdowns go, Tony isn’t hating this one. There are worse places to be stuck overnight than a tooled-out superhero base filled with his ridiculously pretty team-mates. And a restored but definitely not-remastered version of the original Star Wars trilogy. They’ve already got the whole way through the first film and are now watching the rebels flee Hoth. Well, Steve is watching that. Tony is trading off between watching that and watching Steve.

Steve has had SHIELD agents come to do his political-historical catch-up, and Tony himself has tried to give him a working knowledge of some of the advanced tech (Natasha handled Google and Computing 101, because Tony is not the teacher you want when you’re learning the basics.) Pop-culture, though, has become something of a group effort. Tony’s not sure how The Beatles were deemed more important than Star Wars, but as it set up this evening’s marathon, he’s made his peace with it.

“How have _you_ seen this already?” Clint looks at Thor.

“Only the first volume,” Thor says. “Jane felt it was important, but we were interrupted before we made it to this instalment.”

“Jane’s a geek,” Tony says, to better answer Clint’s question.

Thor frowns. “Jane is an astrophysicist.”

Tony tilts his head from one side to the other. “Like I said.” Jane is brilliant and gorgeous and frankly a little terrifying (Tony would love to say he'd be less eager to rush into a relationship with a woman who had twice hit him with a car, but then that would be a lie.) However, the woman is definitely still a geek.

Thor clearly can’t decide whether or not to be insulted on Jane’s behalf. Tony could remind him that for a bunch of assassins and Gods and super-powered freaks they’re all pretty much geeks where it counts (it’s ten pm on a Friday night and they’re locked up in their secret base watching spaceship movies because their boss told them not to go anywhere.) But then he gets distracted by Steve’s involuntary nod. Apparently Steve and Yoda (puppet Yoda, none of this digital shit) are in agreement over whether or not wars make one great.

Steve is a great person to show movies to: he laughs loud and gasps big and watches the whole thing leaning forward towards the screen. He had loved the first one, practically jumping out of his seat when the Millennium Falcon made her big entrance in the finale. And as he had wanted to keep going, and they had nowhere else to be, Tony had thrown on Empire Strikes Back straight after. Empire was indisputably the best of the trilogy, plus Tony had been dying to see how Steve reacted to the paternity revelation. It was pretty much win-win.

Tony realises right between ‘I love you’ and ‘I know’ that he might not have thought this one through. Steve is pressed as far back in the chair as he can manage, his arms pulled tight across his body. He doesn’t look away from the screen, looking instead at the way Han is frozen in place with his hands outstretched. Perfectly preserved in hibernation.

Tony gives it a second before he puts on his best cheerful voice. “We need another round of beers. Steve, give me a hand.”

Clint protests, “We’re coming to the best bit- ow, Natasha, what the fuck?”

Natasha pulls her pointy-booted feet back to her side of the couch. She says, “We’ll fill you in when you get back.” She’s a smart woman.

Steve clambers out of the chair and follows Tony into the kitchen. Tony opens the fridge and moves things about for a while. It’s mostly alcohol and take-out boxes, which is a little sad. Unsurprising, but still sad. Maybe he should get them a chef in here.

Steve coughs. “What about the beer?”

Busted. Tony tosses him a bottle; Steve catches it easily. He doesn’t look especially bothered by the knowledge that Tony was stalling for him. Steve uncaps the bottle and then peeks through the doorway back towards the television screen.

“You want to go back in?” Tony asks.

Steve doesn’t look like he’s going to faint or cry or anything Tony wouldn’t know how to deal with. He just looks like his thoughts aren’t all in this century. He says, “Maybe in a minute. Do you?”

“I’ve seen it probably a hundred times, I already know what happens.”

Steve’s hand curls around the doorframe and he keeps watching. Tony rearranges the condiments in the salad drawer. A moment later Steve inhales sharply. “Darth Vader is Luke’s father.”

“Yep.”

“Should I have known that?”

“It was a shock to most people the first time around. I wouldn’t worry.”

“Okay.”

“We don’t have to watch any more, you know. I can always teach you how to play poker instead.”

“I know how to play poker.”

“Probably not the way I play it.” Tony grins, trying to get Steve to do it back.

“I want to know what happens,” Steve says.

“In the movie?”

“Yes. I mean- it’s a good movie. Movies. I want to see the end.”

“Okay.”

Steve makes no attempt to move.

Tony comes to stand beside him. “Do you want me to tell you it’s going to be okay? It would go against all my principles-.” Steve chokes on what was almost a laugh, which is a little insulting, but laughter is better than the alternative. Tony continues, “I take spoilers seriously! But for you I guess I could make an exception.”

The credits have started to roll in the next room. Steve looks at Tony. “Tell me it’s going to be okay.”

Steve will believe him; that’s the scary thing. Tony nods. “He wakes up, and she’s still there. They fight the war together. And, you know, good triumphs over evil. All the important stuff. You still want to watch?”

“Of course.” Steve gathers up the forgotten round of beers. “I want to see _how_.” He smiles again, and takes the bottles into the other room.

Tony cues up the final disk and the familiar music accompanies the yellow text rolling back. Tony keeps his eyes on Steve right through Leia’s rescue, through Han being pulled – shivering – into a kiss at the gasp of her name. He waits until ‘ _I'm out of it for a little while, everybody gets delusions of grandeur_.’ Because that’s when Steve laughs, and leans forward again. Things will be okay by the time the final credits roll.


End file.
